122-642: The New Bedford River , also known as the Hundred Foot Drain because of the distance between the tops of the two embankments on either side of the river, is a navigable man-made cut-off or by-pass channel of the River Great Ouse in the Fens of Cambridgeshire , England. It provides an almost straight channel between Earith and Denver Sluices . It is tidal, with reverse tidal flow being clearly visible at Welney, some 19 miles (31 km) from
244-536: A chantry of chaplains for the altar of Holy Trinity in Wisbech . Lands were granted in mortmain . Lynn acquired a mayor and corporation in 1524. In 1537 the king took over the town from the bishop. In the same century the town's two annual fairs were reduced to one. In 1534 a grammar school was founded; four years later Henry VIII closed the Benedictine priory and the three friaries. A piped water supply
366-457: A municipal borough in 1883. The present Borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk was an amalgamation of the Borough of King's Lynn, the urban districts of Downham Market and Hunstanton , and the rural districts of Docking , Downham , Freebridge Lynn , and Marshland . The shield in the coat of arms of King's Lynn and West Norfolk is that of the ancient Borough of Lynn, recorded at
488-495: A tenure in fee or farm. As the 1086 Domesday Book mentions saltings at Lena (Lynn), an area of partitioned pools may have existed there at the time. Other places with Lynn in the name include Dublin, Ireland, with An Dubh Linn meaning “the Black Pool.” The presence of salt, which was relatively rare and expensive in the early medieval period, may have added to the interest of Herbert de Losinga and other prominent Normans in
610-502: A 'Haling Act', the Ouse Navigation Act 1790 ( 30 Geo. 3 . c. 83), was passed, which ensured that tolls were charged and landowners were repaid for damage to the banks caused by horses. These measures were a success, as there were few complaints once the new system was in place. After the river had been diverted to King's Lynn , the town developed as a port. Evidence for this can still be seen, as two warehouses built in
732-581: A better route for barge traffic. The unmodified river would have changed course regularly after floods. The name Ouse is from the Celtic or pre-Celtic * Udso-s , and probably means simply "water" or slow flowing river. Thus the name is a pleonasm . The lower reaches of the Great Ouse are also known as "Old West River" and "the Ely Ouse", but the entire length of the river is often referred to simply as
854-403: A centre for fishing and seafood (especially inshore prawns, shrimps and cockles). There have also been glass-making and small-scale engineering works – many fairground and steam engines were built here. It still contains much farm-related industry, including food processing. There are several chemical factories and the town retains a role as an import centre. In general, it is a regional centre for
976-540: A corporation and obtained a charter to carry out the work in 1634. The Dutch engineer Cornelius Vermuyden was engaged to oversee the work, which included nine major drainage channels, including the Bedford River, which ran from Earith to Salter's Lode. The tract of land through which it ran became known as the Bedford Level , and the scheme was declared to be complete in 1637. However, in 1638, that decision
1098-664: A cost of £65,000. Each pump could discharge 270 tons of water per minute into the New Bedford River, but the existing two diesel pumps were retained. Prior to the opening ceremony, the Drainage Commissioners held a celebration lunch at the Club Hotel, Ely, where their predecessors had met for the first time in 1756. The Environment Agency measure the water quality of the river systems in England. Each
1220-696: A direct link north-east towards the lower river at Denver in Norfolk. The river previously ran through Hermitage Lock into the Old West River, then joined the Cam near Little Thetford before passing Ely and Littleport to reach the Denver sluice. Below this point, the river is tidal and continues past Downham Market to enter the Wash at King's Lynn. It is navigable from the Wash to Kempston Mill near Bedford,
1342-476: A distance of 72 mi (116 km) which contains 17 locks. It has a catchment area of 3,240 sq mi (8,380 km ) and a mean flow of 15.5 m /s (550 cu ft/s) as measured at Denver Sluice. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded modification in 1236, as a result of flooding. During the 1600s, the Old Bedford and New Bedford rivers were built to provide
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#17327721796641464-500: A double bend. Blair argues for a date soon after the New Bedford River was built, however, since Welches Dam is named after Edmund Welche, who worked with Vermuyden, and the dam in question was originally built across the Old Bedford River. The New Bedford River follows a fairly straight course, heading approximately north-east for 20.8 miles (33.5 km) from Earith to Denver Sluice. While there are no real restrictions on
1586-570: A market to be held on Saturday. Trade built up along the waterways that stretched inland; the town expanded between the two rivers. Lynn's 12th-century Jewish community was exterminated in the widespread massacres of 1189 . During the 14th century, Lynn ranked as England's most important port. It was seen to be as vital to England in the Middle Ages as Liverpool was during the Industrial Revolution . Sea trade with Europe
1708-404: A more average year the warmest day will only reach 29.4 °C (84.9 °F), with 13.8 days in total attaining a temperature of 25.1 °C (77.2 °F) or more. Typically all these figures are marginally lower than those for the southern half of the Fens due to the presence of onshore sea breezes, and occasional haar (cold sea fog), especially in early summer and late spring. However, with
1830-770: A progressively eastwards fashion. In the Dark Ages, it turned to the west at Littleport, between its present junctions with the River Little Ouse and the River Lark , and made its way via Welney, Upwell and Outwell, to flow into The Wash near Wisbech . At that time it was known as the Wellstream or Old Wellenhee, and parts of that course are marked by the Old Croft River and the border between Cambridgeshire and Norfolk. After major inland flood events in
1952-921: A public library in 1905. The first cinema, the Majestic , officially opened on 23 May 1928. (The year is marked in a stained-glass window on the front of the building.) The town council began a programme of regeneration in the 1930s. During the First World War , King's Lynn was one of the UK's first towns to suffer aerial bombing, on the night of 19 January 1915 by a naval Zeppelin , L4 (LZ 27), commanded by Captain Lieutenant Magnus von Platen-Hallermund. Eleven bombs were dropped, both incendiary and high explosive, doing much damage, killing two people in Bentinck Street and injuring several more. When
2074-571: A quicker route for the water to reach the sea. In the 20th century, construction of the Cut-Off Channel and the Great Ouse Relief Channel have further altered water flows in the region, and helped to reduce flooding. Improvements to assist navigation began in 1618, with the construction of sluices and locks. Bedford could be reached by river from 1689. A major feature was the sluice at Denver, which failed in 1713, but
2196-534: A reliable outlet to the sea, and was kept navigable by diverting the River Nene east to flow into it in the 1470s. The Land Drainage Act 1601 ( 43 Eliz. 1 . c. 11) allowed 'adventurers', who paid for drainage schemes with their own money, to be repaid in land which they had drained. The act covered large tracts of England, but no improvements were made to the region through which the Great Ouse flowed until 1618, Arnold Spencer and Thomas Girton started to improve
2318-480: A spring tide, and by a few inches for a neap tide. The area between the two Bedford Rivers, 20 miles (32 km) long and 1,070 yards (980 m) wide at their greatest separation near Welney, is below the rivers and below sea level, and is frequently flooded during winter. There is a sluice at Earith which is used to control the waters of the River Great Ouse. It was built with nine openings in 1637, but
2440-558: A still sparsely populated part of England. King's Lynn was the fastest growing port in Great Britain in 2008. Department for Transport figures show that through-put increased by 33 per cent. In 2008, the German Palm Group began to erect one of the world's largest paper machines, constructed by Voith Paper . With a web speed of up to 2000 metres a minute and a web width of 10.63 metres, it can produce 400,000 tons
2562-624: A strong enough offshore breeze, the area can be notably warm. Terrington (along with Cambridge Botanical Gardens) achieved the national highest temperature of 2007, 30.1 °C (86.2 °F) The absolute minimum at Terrington is −15.4 °C (4.3 °F), set in January 1979. A total of 41.6 nights will report an air frost at Terrington and 51.9 nights at Marham. Annual rainfall totals 621 mm (24 in) at Marham, and 599 mm (24 in) at Terrington, with 1 mm or more falling on 115 and 113 days, respectively. All averages refer to
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#17327721796642684-429: A three-month period soon afterwards. Despite pressure from local authorities and navigation companies, the upper river was closed for trade, and a royal commission reported in 1909 on the poor state of the lower river, the lack of any consistent authority to manage it, and the unusual practice of towing horses having to jump over fences because there were no gates where they crossed the towing path. The Ouse Drainage Board
2806-571: Is a regional centre for the sport. Viking Kayak Club organise the Bedford Kayak Marathon with canoe racing held along the Embankment on Bedford's riverside and dates back to the original Bedford to St Neots race in 1952, believed to be the first of its kind in the country. Bedford also benefits from the presence of weirs and sluices, creating white water opportunities. Viking organise national ranking Canoe Slalom events at
2928-635: Is a river in England , the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse" . From Syresham in Northamptonshire , the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the Wash and the North Sea near Kings Lynn . Authorities disagree both on the river's source and its length, with one quoting 160 mi (260 km) and another 143 mi (230 km). Mostly flowing north and east, it
3050-402: Is generally known locally as Lynn . The city of Lynn, Massachusetts , north of Boston , was named in 1637 in honour of its first official minister of religion, Reverend Samuel Whiting Sr, who arrived there from Lynn, Norfolk. Lynn originated on a constricted site south of where the River Great Ouse now discharges into the Wash . Development began in the early 10th century, but the place
3172-437: Is given an overall ecological status, which may be one of five levels: high, good, moderate, poor and bad. There are several components that are used to determine this, including biological status, which looks at the quantity and varieties of invertebrates , angiosperms and fish. Chemical status, which compares the concentrations of various chemicals against known safe concentrations, is rated good or fail. The water quality of
3294-597: Is no loger available for navigation. The proposed Fens Waterways Link , which aims to improve navigation from Lincoln to Cambridge may result in this section being upgraded, or a non-tidal link being created at Denver. There are two more proposed schemes to improve connections from the river to the Midlands waterway network (in addition to the Gt Ouse ;– Nene link via the Middle Level). As
3416-472: Is the fifth longest river in the United Kingdom . The Great Ouse has been historically important for commercial navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows; its best-known tributary is the Cam , which runs through Cambridge . Its lower course passes through drained wetlands and fens and has been extensively modified, or channelised , to relieve flooding and provide
3538-701: The Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC), which was the first artificial whitewater course in the UK, opened in 1982 adjacent to Cardington Lock, in a partnership with the Environment Agency who use it as a flood relief channel. CASC is also the venue each year for the UK's National Inter Clubs Slalom Finals, the largest canoe slalom event by participation in the UK. Since 1978, the Bedford River Festival has been held every two years, to celebrate
3660-456: The College of Arms in 1563. It shows the legend of Margaret of Antioch , who has appeared on Lynn shields since the 13th century, and to whom the parish church is dedicated. The per chevron division and addition of a bordure serve to distinguish the shield from its predecessor, while retaining its medieval simplicity. The bordure also suggests the wider bounds of the new authority, with
3782-523: The Earl of Bedford formed a corporation to drain the Bedford Levels. Cornelius Vermuyden was the engineer, and a major part of the scheme was the Old Bedford River, a straight cut to carry water from Earith to a new sluice near Salters Lode, which was completed in 1637. The sluice was not popular with those who used the river for navigation, and there were some attempts to destroy the new works during
New Bedford River - Misplaced Pages Continue
3904-576: The First Anglo-Dutch War , and probably by a colony of French workers stationed near Thorney Abbey. Towards the northern end of the washes, the New Bedford River is joined by the River Delph at Welmore Lake Sluice. The origins of this channel, which is sometimes called the thirty-foot drain, are obscure, although it was built to assist the removal of water from the washlands, according to C. N. Cole writing in 1784. Prior to 1825, there
4026-551: The House of Lords in 1904, who allowed Simpson to close the locks. Simpson's victory in 1904 coincided with an increased use of the river for leisure. As he could not charge these boats for use of the locks, the situation was resolved for a time in 1906 by the formation of the River Ouse Locks Committee, who rented the locks between Great Barford and Bedford. Over 2,000 boats were recorded using Bedford Lock in
4148-622: The Milton Keynes urban area (at Stony Stratford and Newport Pagnell ) and Olney , then Kempston in Bedfordshire, which is the current head of navigation. Passing through Bedford , it flows on into Cambridgeshire through St Neots , Godmanchester , Huntingdon , Hemingford Grey and St Ives , reaching Earith . Here, the river enters a short tidal section before branching in two. The artificial, very straight Old Bedford River and New Bedford River , which remain tidal, provide
4270-628: The North Sea , which contributed to Lynn's development. The Borough Council commissioned and accepted a 2008 report by DTZ that dubbed King's Lynn's workforce as "low-value" with a "low skills base" and the town as having a "poor lifestyle offer". The quality of services and amenities was "unattractive to higher-value inward investors and professional employees with higher disposable incomes". Average earnings were well below regional and national levels, and many jobs in tourism, leisure and hotels were subject to seasonal fluctuations and likewise poorly paid. Education and workforce skills were described as below
4392-687: The Ouse Washes . At Welney , these washes provide an ideal habitat for wildfowl and other birds, and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust has established a nature reserve here, the WWT Welney . The reserve occupies 990 acres (400 ha), and is accessible from the A1101 bridge by following a minor road to the carpark, and then crossing the New Bedford River by a footbridge. It is important for its wild flowers, dragonflies and butterflies, as well as
4514-815: The River Cam , the River Lark, the River Little Ouse and the River Wissey. Close to Denver sluice, Salters Lode lock gives access to the Middle Level Navigations , but the intervening section is tidal, and deters many boaters. Access to the Middle Level Navigations used to be possible via the Old Bedford River and Welches Dam lock, but the Environment Agency piled the entrance to the lock in 2006 and this route
4636-498: The Second World War began in 1939, it was assumed that King's Lynn would be safe from bombing and many evacuees were sent from London, but the town suffered several raids. The local breweries had closed by the 1950s, but new industries included food canning in the 1930s and soup-making in the 1950s . In the 1960s, the council sought to encourage development by adding an industrial estate at Hardwick. In 1962, King's Lynn
4758-584: The South Gates . The Member of Parliament at the time was Sir Robert Walpole , generally regarded as the first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom . The town's decline from the late 17th century was reversed by the arrival of the railways in 1847, mainly by the Great Eastern Railway , later the London and North Eastern Railway , running to Hunstanton , Dereham and Cambridge . The town
4880-534: The Wash , a fourfold estuary subject to dangerous tides and shifting sandbanks, on the north-west margin of East Anglia . King's Lynn has an area of 11 square miles (28 km ). The Great Ouse at Lynn is about 200 metres (660 ft) wide and the outfall for much of the Fens ' drainage system. The much smaller Gaywood River also flows through the town, joining the Great Ouse at the southern end of South Quay, close to
5002-615: The 15th and 17th centuries. These are the only remaining buildings of the Hanseatic League in England. The town was designated a Royal Port by King John . In the first decade of the 16th century, Thoresby College was built in Lynn by Thomas Thoresby to house priests of the Guild of The Holy Trinity. It had been incorporated in 1453 under a petition of its alderman, chaplain, four brethren and four sisters, who were licensed to found
New Bedford River - Misplaced Pages Continue
5124-484: The 15th century for trade with the Hanseatic League have survived. However, the harbour and the river below Denver sluice were affected by silting, and the problem was perceived to be the effects of the sluice. Sand from The Wash was deposited by the incoming tide, and the outgoing tide did not carry it away again. Colonel John Armstrong was asked to survey the river in 1724, and suggested returning it to how it
5246-415: The 1830s and 1840s. The Bedford Level Act 1827 ( 53 Geo. 3 . c. ccxiv) created commissioners who dredged the river from Hermitage Lock to Littleport bridge, and also dredged several of its tributaries. They constructed a new cut near Ely to bypass a long meander near Padnall Fen and Burnt Fen , but although the works cost £70,000, they were too late to return the navigation to prosperity. Railways arrived in
5368-540: The 30-year observation period 1971–2000. The largest of the town's several public parks are the Walks , a historic 17-hectare urban park in the centre of King's Lynn. They are the only town walk in Norfolk to survive from the 18th century. The Heritage Lottery Fund donated £4.3 million towards restoring them and adding modern amenities. They also include the Red Mount, a Grade II -listed 15th-century chapel . In 1998,
5490-519: The Hundred Foot and Oxlode pumping stations, and into the Great Ouse by the Ten Mile, Moors, and Wood Fen pumping stations. The 1756 act was consolidated by further Acts of Parliament obtained in 1800 and 1810. By the early 1800s, drainage was achieved by 80 wind pumps, but in 1818, the first steam-powered pumping station was built at Ten Mile Bank, by the Great Ouse. This was followed in 1830 by
5612-540: The Hundred Foot pumping station on the banks of the New Bedford River. It replaced Westmoor Mills, where two wind pumps raised the water in two stages. The new plant consisted of a beam engine manufactured by the Butterley Company and rated at 80 hp (60 kW). Steam was produced by two boilers, with a third added in November 1843. Butterley replaced the first two boilers in 1869, and James Watt replaced
5734-646: The King's Lynn Conservancy Board, and the Great Ouse Catchment Board reconstructed and extended them in 1937. After major flooding in 1937 and 1947, and the North Sea flood of 1953 , flood control issues became more important, and the Cut-Off Channel was completed in 1964, to carry the headwaters of the River Wissey, River Lark and River Little Ouse to join the river near Denver sluice. The Great Ouse Relief Channel, which runs parallel to
5856-489: The King's Lynn harbour. Denver sluice was reconstructed in 1834, after the Eau Brink Cut had been completed. Sir John Rennie designed the new structure, which incorporated a tidal lock with four sets of gates, enabling it to be used at most states of the tide. Sir Thomas Cullam, who had inherited a part share of the upper river, invested large amounts of his own money in rebuilding the locks, sluices and staunches in
5978-477: The Littleport and Downham Internal Drainage Board , the successors to the Littleport and Downham Drainage Commissioners which were established by Act of Parliament in 1756. This act enabled the land to be enclosed, and the district has relied on pumped drainage ever since. The board are now responsible for 32,242 acres (13,048 ha) of fen land. Water from the district is pumped into the New Bedford River by
6100-666: The New Bedford River and the lower Great Ouse was as follows in 2019. The water quality is less than good mainly due to physical modification of the channel for flood protection. Like most rivers in the UK, the chemical status changed from good to fail in 2019, due to the presence of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and mercury compounds, neither of which had previously been included in the assessment. [REDACTED] Media related to New Bedford River at Wikimedia Commons 52°20′N 0°02′E / 52.333°N 0.033°E / 52.333; 0.033 River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( / uː z / ooz )
6222-709: The Ouse in informal usage (the word "Great" – which originally meant simply big or, in the case of a river, long – is used to distinguish this river from several others called the Ouse). The river has several sources close to the villages of Syresham and Wappenham in South Northamptonshire . It flows through Brackley , provides the Oxfordshire /Northamptonshire border, then into Buckinghamshire where it flows through Buckingham ,
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#17327721796646344-420: The River Delph is connected to the Old Bedford River at a double bend near Welches Dam. The northern half of the Old Bedford River is no longer connected to its southern half. It is not known exactly when this configuration was built, although it may have been between 1789 and 1821, since Cole's map of 1789 shows the Old Bedford River proceeding in a straight line, and Baker's map of 1821 shows two rivers, each with
6466-548: The Vancouver Quarter) was refurbished in 2005 under the scheme, but was expected to last only 25 years, according to the construction firm, even with a planned extension. An award-winning £6 million multi-storey car park was built. To the south of the town, residential housing appeared on a large area of brownfield land . Plans for another housing estate alongside the River Nar were opposed locally and halted by
6588-437: The Walks were designated by English Heritage as a Grade II national historic park . The Walks as a whole had a different, earlier origin, conceived of not as a municipal park, as one understands the term today, but as a promenade for citizens, away from the smell, grime and bustle of the town centre. Harding's Pits form another public park, to the south of the town. This informal area of open space with large public sculptures
6710-401: The architect Henry Bell , once the town's mayor, designed the Custom House . He also designed the Duke's Head Inn , North Runcton Church and Stanhoe Hall, having gained ideas while on travel in Europe as a young man. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the town's main export was grain. Lynn was no longer a major international port, but iron and timber were imported. King's Lynn suffered from
6832-552: The area rapidly after 1845, reaching Cambridge, Ely, Huntingdon, King's Lynn, St Ives, St Neots and Tempsford by 1850. The river below King's Lynn was improved by the construction of the 2 mi (3.2 km) Marsh Cut and the building of training walls beyond that to constrain the channel, but the railways were welcomed by the Bedford Levels Corporation, for whom navigation interfered with drainage, and by King's Lynn Corporation, who did not want to be superseded by other towns with railway interchange facilities. A large interchange dock
6954-420: The birds, which are most numerous when the washland is flooded. There are public footpaths on both sides of the river for most of its length, the only exception being a short section of the western bank near Earith. A long-distance footpath called the Hereward Way crosses the river by the A1101 bridge at Welney, and then follows the eastern bank southwards almost to the March to Ely railway line. It turns to
7076-464: The boatmen were placated by the provision of a navigation lock in the structure. Some of the workers who built the New Bedford River may have been Scottish prisoners-of-war captured at the Battle of Dunbar , since a number of such prisoners were used on drainage schemes in the Fens, because labourers were scarce. After 1652, they were supplemented by Dutch prisoners, as a result of sea battles between Admiral Blake and Lieutenant-Admiral Tromp during
7198-399: The boats over such obstructions. On the lower river, a combination of high spring tides and large volumes of floodwater resulted in the complete failure of Denver sluice in 1713. While there were celebrations among the navigators, the problem of flooding returned, and the channel below Denver deteriorated. Charles Labelye therefore designed a new sluice for the Bedford Level Corporation, which
7320-491: The borough's badge, but here it is surrounded by a garland of oak leaves as a reference to the rural nature of much of the district. Oak leaves also appear in the coronet in the crest of the former Downham Market Urban District Council. King's Lynn is twinned with: King's Lynn is the northernmost settlement on the River Great Ouse , lying 97 miles (156 km) north of London and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich . The town lies about 5 miles (8 km) south of
7442-514: The coldest month with mean minimum temperatures between 0 to 1 °C (32.0 to 33.8 °F). July and August are the warmest, with mean daily maximum temperatures of some 21 °C (70 °F). There are two Met Office weather stations close to King's Lynn: Terrington St Clement, about 4 miles (6 km) to the west and RAF Marham, about 10 miles (16 km) to the south-east. The absolute maximum temperature at Terrington stands at 35.1 °C (95.2 °F) recorded in August 2003, though in
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#17327721796647564-411: The county of Norfolk , England. It is 36 miles (58 km) north-east of Peterborough , 44 miles (71 km) north-north-east of Cambridge and 44 miles (71 km) west of Norwich . The etymology of King's Lynn is uncertain. The name Lynn may signify a body of water near the town – the Welsh word llyn means a lake; but the name is plausibly of Anglo-Saxon origin, from lean meaning
7686-421: The discovery of the Americas , which benefited ports on the west coast of England. It was also affected by the growth of London. In the late 17th century, imports of wine from Spain, Portugal and France boomed, and there was still much coastal trade. It was cheaper to transport goods by water than by road at the time. Large amounts of coal arrived from the north-east of England. The Fens began to be drained in
7808-497: The drainage and ecology authority as well as being the navigation authority . The Ouse Washes are an internationally important area for wildlife. Sandwiched between the Old Bedford and New Bedford rivers, they consist of washland which is used as pasture during the summer but which floods in the winter, and are the largest area of such land in the United Kingdom. They act as breeding grounds for lapwings, redshanks and snipe in spring, and are home to varieties of ducks and swans during
7930-419: The drainage of the Bedford Level resumed, and a second Drainage Act was obtained. It became known as the 'Pretended Act', and authorised William Russell, the 5th Earl of Bedford , to carry out further work, the chief of which was a second channel parallel to the Bedford River. Vermuyden was again the engineer, and the new channel was completed in 1652. The Bedford River became known as the Old Bedford River , and
8052-438: The early 13th century it breached another watershed near Denver and took over the channel of the old Wiggenhall Eau, and so achieved a new exit and so joined the Wash at Kings Lynn. Parts of the old course were later used for the River Lark, which flows in the reverse direction along the section below Prickwillow, after the main river was moved further to the west. The original northern course began to silt up, depriving Wisbech of
8174-412: The east a little before the bridge, following the north bank of the Engine Basin, a drainage channel which is pumped into the river by the Hundred Foot Pumping Station. The area between the New Bedford River and the Great Ouse now lies at an average of 6.6 feet (2 m) below mean sea level, and three times that distance below the highest levels that tides normally reach. The low lying land is managed by
8296-419: The economic situation. There is also a business park, parkland, a school, shops and a new relief road in a £300 million-plus scheme. In 2006, King's Lynn became the United Kingdom's first member of The Hanse ( Die Hanse ), a network of towns across Europe that belonged historically to the Hanseatic League . The league was an influential medieval trading association of merchant towns around the Baltic Sea and
8418-423: The failure of a gate valve in a separate incident, resulting in one of the two pumps not being available for use. Plans for a pumping station at Oxlode were originally announced in 1940, but it is unclear when it was opened, as a new pumping station was commissioned in July 1944, but newspapers did not print its name, due to wartime censorship. A second pumping station with two electric pumps was opened in May 1962, at
8540-414: The gull is an extension of the two in the shield, and the cross in the coat of arms of Freebridge Lynn Rural District . The supporters are based on the crest of the Hunstanton Urban District Council. The lion is a variation of the lions, or leopards, in the Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom and its fish tail suggests the borough's links with the sea. The fish–lion is also the central feature in
8662-468: The harbour, and was widened at an additional cost of £33,000 on Telford's advice. The total cost for the 2 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (4.0 km) cut was nearly £500,000, and although the navigators, who had opposed the scheme, benefitted most from it, there were new problems for drainage, with the surrounding land levels dropping as the peaty soil dried out. The Eau Brink Act 1795 created Drainage Commissioners and Navigation Commissioners, who had powers over
8784-470: The intake needing to be lowered. The beam engine was replaced by a 400 hp (300 kW) vertical steam engine manufactured by Gwynnes in 1914, linked to a 50-inch (130 cm) Gwynnes pump. In 1926, a Mirlees diesel engine was installed to supplement the steam engine, until that was replaced by a Ruston and Hornsby diesel engine in 1951. In 1965, the Mirlees engine was sold, and a new electric station
8906-462: The landmark Campbell's Tower was demolished – competition winner Sarah Griffiths pulled the switch. Her father, Mick Locke, had died in 1995 aged 52 after being scalded by steam at the factory. It was Campbell's first UK factory when it opened in the 1950s. At its peak in the early 1990s it employed over 700. A fire station was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in February 2015. King's Lynn became
9028-412: The length or width of boats, draught is limited to 2 feet (0.6 m) and headroom to 7.8 feet (2.4 m), although the river is tidal, and so these values can fluctuate depending on the state of the tide. The Environment Agency advise that navigating up the river is best attempted when there is a tide of at least 24 feet (7.3 m) at King's Lynn , and boats should enter the river at Denver soon after
9150-435: The link between Bedford and the coast. In addition to craft often seen on the river, the 2008 festival featured a reconstruction of a 1st-century currach , consisting of a wicker framework covered in cow hide, and capable of carrying ten people. King%27s Lynn King's Lynn , known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn , is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in
9272-582: The main river for 10 + 1 ⁄ 2 mi (16.9 km) from here to Wiggenhall bridge, was constructed at the same time. It joins the river at a sluice above King's Lynn, and was made navigable in 2001, when the Environment Agency constructed a lock at Denver to provide access. By 1939, the Catchment Board had reopened the locks to Godmanchester and then to Eaton Socon ; in 1951 the Great Ouse Restoration Society
9394-596: The mid–17th century and the land turned to farming, allowing vast amounts of produce to be sent to London's growing market. Meanwhile, King's Lynn was still a major fishing port. Greenland Fishery House in Bridge Street was built in 1605. By the late 17th century shipbuilding and glass-making had also developed. In the early 18th century, Daniel Defoe called the town "beautiful, well built and well situated". Shipbuilding thrived, as did associated trades such as sail-making and rope-making. Glass-making prospered; brewing
9516-520: The modest parish. The town was named Len Episcopi (Bishop's Lynn) while under the temporal and spiritual jurisdiction of the Bishop of Norwich , but in the reign of Henry VIII it was surrendered to the crown and took the name Lenne Regis or King's Lynn. The Domesday Book records it as Lun and Lenn , and ascribes it to the Bishop of Elmham and the Archbishop of Canterbury . The town
9638-572: The most popular area for breeding animals in recent years. Tributaries of the River Great Ouse: (upstream [source] to downstream by confluence) In 1944 the annual Boat Race between the Oxford and Cambridge universities took place on this river, between Littleport and Queen Adelaide, the first time that it had not been held on the Thames ; it was won by Oxford. The 2021 Boat Race
9760-509: The national average. The borough ranked 150th out of 354 for social deprivation. In 2009, a proposal was made for the Campbell's Meadow factory site to be redeveloped as a 5-hectare (12-acre) employment and business park. In June 2011 Tesco gained a permit for a superstore. On 8 June 2010, it unveiled regeneration plans that would cost £32 million and were billed to bring 900 new jobs. Tesco pledged £4 million of improvements in other areas of
9882-639: The navigation, and it was recommended that it should be abandoned, but there was no funds to obtain an act of Parliament to create a drainage authority. The navigation was declared to be derelict by three county councils soon afterwards. It was then bought by the Ouse River Canal and Steam Navigation Ltd , who wanted to link Bedford to the Grand Junction Canal , but they failed to obtain their act of Parliament. A stockbroker called L. T. Simpson bought it in 1893, and spent some £21,000 over
10004-534: The new channel became the New Bedford River. Sluices were built at Earith and Denver, and the river carried most of the flow of the River Great Ouse, resulting in its old course via Ely becoming just a drainage channel. The Corporation of the Bedford Level was set up, and took control of the river and the drainage channels, under the terms of the General Drainage Act, passed in 1663. This move
10126-527: The next four years in restoring it. He created the Ouse Transport Company, running a fleet of tugs and lighters, and then attempted to get approval for new tolls, but was opposed by Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire county councils. Protracted legal battles followed, with Simpson nailing the lock gates together, and the county councils declaring that the river was a public highway. The case, Simpson v Godmanchester Corporation , eventually reached
10248-468: The proposed store. Mortson Assets' and Sainsbury's plan included a link road between Scania Way and Queen Elizabeth Way to improve access and allow the industrial estate to attract new employers, while Sainsbury's maintains its store in the town centre. It has pledged £1.75 million for highways improvements and a further £7 million to invest in the Pinguin Foods factory. At 8 am on 15 January 2012,
10370-565: The river between 1925 and 1959, with the last known commercial traffic sailing in 1974. Leisure boating had been popular since 1904, and the post-war period saw the creation of the Great Ouse Restoration Society in 1951, who campaigned for complete renovation of the river navigation. Until 1989, the river was in the care of the Anglian Water Authority until water privatisation , when the Environment Agency became
10492-453: The river between St Ives and St Neots . Six sluices were constructed, and Spencer attempted to obtain permission to improve the river to Bedford, but the bill for the related act of Parliament was defeated, despite support from Bedford Corporation. Some dredging was done, and Great Barford became an inland port, but he lost a lot of money on the scheme, and the condition of the river worsened. Below Earith, thirteen Adventurers working with
10614-579: The river by forming the Viking Kayak Club . Since 1996, the river has been the responsibility of the Environment Agency , who issue navigation licences. The upper river was fully reopened to Bedford with the rebuilding of Castle Mills lock in 1978. The non-tidal reaches of the river are used for leisure boating, but remain largely separated from the rest of the British inland waterway system. Several of its tributaries are navigable, including
10736-584: The river to St Ives, but both bodies were subject to the Bedford Levels Corporation. Although often in opposition, the two parties worked together on the construction of a new lock and staunch at Brownshill, to improve navigation above Earith. In 1835, King William IV brought a case against the Ouse Bank Commissioners regarding a mandamus writ issued in 1834 about the Eau Brink Cut and possible damages it caused to
10858-432: The river, and navigation was extended to Bedford in 1689 by the construction of new staunches and sluices. Between St Ives and Bedford, there were ten sluices, which were pound locks constructed at locations where mill weirs would have prevented navigation. There were also five staunches, which were flash locks constructed near to fords and shallows. Operation of the beam and paddle provided an extra volume of water to carry
10980-445: The sea. In the 1620s, there was discontent in the region through which the New Bedford River now flows, as the land was regularly inundated by flood water. Francis Russell, 4th Earl of Bedford , who owned large tracts of land in the vicinity, agreed to carry out drainage works in 1630, in return for 95,000 acres (38,000 ha) of the land which would be reclaimed. He was joined in the project by thirteen other adventurers , who formed
11102-410: The seven parts symbolising the seven amalgamated authorities. The gull on the crest is a maritime reference. It has appeared as a supporter in some representations, but officially stands on a bollard to make it distinctive. It supports a crown or coronet like a King's Lynn supporter and a lion from the crest of Downham Market. The coronet refers to the Borough's royal connections. The cross held by
11224-518: The sugar beet factory at Queen Adelaide near Ely was opened. They operated six or seven tugs and a fleet of over 100 barges, and three tugs and 24 barges from the Wissington sugar beet factory on the River Wissey also operated on the river. Local commercial traffic continued around Ely until after the Second World War . The sugar beet traffic ceased in 1959, and the last commercial boat on
11346-399: The third in 1875. They were all replaced by high pressure Lancashire boilers in 1911. Originally, the engine drove a scoop wheel which was 37.4 feet (11.4 m) in diameter, but in 1881 this was replaced by the largest scoop wheel used in the Fens, which was 50 feet (15 m) in diameter. There were continual problems with the land levels dropping due to shrinkage of the peat, resulting in
11468-497: The tide turns. Water levels tend to rise steeply for about two hours after the tide turns, and then drop gradually over the next ten hours. Care is needed to ensure that boats remain in the centre of the channel, particularly during the winter months when the river may be overflowing into the Ouse Washes. Despite being some 35 miles (56 km) from the sea, water levels at Earith still rise and fall by about 2 feet (0.6 m) on
11590-400: The town centre. A small section known as West Lynn lies on the west bank, linked to the town centre by one of the oldest ferries in the country. Other districts of King's Lynn include the town centre, North Lynn , South Lynn , and Gaywood . King's Lynn has a temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen : Cfb). The annual mean daytime temperature is around 14 °C (57 °F ). January is
11712-488: The town was besieged for three weeks. Valentine Walton brother-in-law of Oliver Cromwell was appointed governor. A heart carved on the wall of the Tuesday Market Place supposedly marks the burning of an alleged witch, Margaret Read, in 1590. It is said that as she was burning her heart burst from her body and struck the wall. Other sources put forward Mary Smith, hanged in 1616, as the witch. In 1683,
11834-609: The town. While it planned to spend £1.6 million widening Hardwick Road, the Sainsbury's bid was preferred by the Council as offering the town more benefits. Sainsbury's £40 million plans for a superstore opposite Tesco on the Pinguin Foods site yielded an estimated 300 jobs. This was the key to securing the future of Pinguin Foods in King's Lynn. Pinguin Foods released 12 acres (5 ha) of its 44-acre (18 ha) site to accommodate
11956-458: The turmoil of the English civil wars . A second drainage act of Parliament was obtained in 1649, and Vermuyden oversaw the construction of the New Bedford River, parallel to the Old Bedford River, which was completed in 1652. There was strong opposition from the ports and towns on the river, which increased as the old channel via Ely gradually silted up. Above Earith, Samuel Jemmatt took control of
12078-459: The upper river was "Shellfen" , a Dutch barge converted to carry 4,000 imp gal (18,000 L) of diesel fuel, which supplied the remote pumping stations until 1974, when the last ones were converted to electricity. Below Denver, the situation was complicated by the fact that there were six bodies with responsibility for the river in 1913. No dredging took place, as there was no overall authority. The training walls were repaired in 1930 by
12200-440: The water quality has improved, otters have returned to the river in numbers such that fishing lakes now require fencing to protect stocks. Paxton Pits nature reserve near St Neots has hides from which otters are regularly seen. Coarse fishing is still popular, with a wide range of fish in the river, but it is many years since large sturgeon were caught. Seals have been recorded as far upstream as Bedford. Huntingdonshire seems to be
12322-479: The winter months. The river has been important both for drainage and for navigation for centuries, and these dual roles have not always been complementary. The course of the river has changed significantly. In prehistory, it flowed from Huntingdon straight to Wisbech and then into the sea. In several sequences, the lower reaches of the river silted, and in times of inland flood, the waters would breach neighbouring watersheds and new courses would develop – generally in
12444-427: Was a dam where the sluice is located, and water was let out of the washland by cutting a slot in it, which the flood water enlarged as it passed through. The cost of rebuilding the dam at the end of the process was considerable, and this unsatisfactory arrangement was replaced by a sluice. At the same time, the New Bedford River was made wider and deeper, while some of the flood banks were also raised. At its southern end,
12566-667: Was again held on the river because of the COVID-19 pandemic . The Great Ouse has been used by three clubs from Cambridge University for the training of rowers, with the Boat Club (CUBC) , the Women's Boat Club (CUWBC) and the Lightweight Rowing Club (CULRC) , all using facilities at Ely; the clubs merged in 2020. The Great Ouse is a very popular river for canoeing and kayaking , particularly around Bedford which
12688-509: Was also served by the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway (M&GN), with offices at Austin Street and a station at South Lynn (now dismantled), which was also its operational control centre. It relocated to Melton Constable . The M&GN lines across Norfolk closed to passengers in February 1959. The town's amenities continued to improve in the 20th century. A museum opened in 1904 and
12810-481: Was another important industry. The Norwich company of comedians had been visiting since the 1750s, in 1766 a permanent theatre was created. A new playhouse was built in 1805. The first bank in King's Lynn opened in 1784. A fearsome example of penal brutality occurred on 28 September 1708, when a seven-year-old boy, Michael Hammond, and his 11-year-old sister Ann were convicted of stealing a loaf of bread and sentenced to hanging . Their public executions took place near
12932-411: Was built at Ely, to facilitate the distribution of agricultural produce from the local region to wider markets. In addition, coal for several isolated pumping stations was transferred to boats for the final part of the journey, rather than it coming all the way from King's Lynn. Decline on most of the river was rapid, with tolls halving between 1855 and 1862. Flooding in 1875 was blamed on the poor state of
13054-624: Was built in 1985, although the Ruston engine and the 1911 boilers were retained. The electric station contains three submersible pumps, one of which failed in December 2012, after a period of heavy rain. With water levels in Pymoor Drain rising to record levels, the Ruston diesel engine was mended and pressed into service on 24 December. At the same time, the Oxlode pumping station suffered from
13176-454: Was classed as an overflow town for London. The population grew and estates were built at Woottons and Gaywood . The town centre was redeveloped in the 1960s and many earlier buildings knocked down. Lynnsport, a sports centre, opened in 1982. The Corn Exchange in Tuesday Market Place became a theatre in 1996. Since 2004, work has been under way to regenerate the town under a multi-million-pound scheme. The 1960s Vancouver Shopping Centre (now
13298-464: Was constructed between 1748 and 1750 and included a navigation lock. No tolls were charged on the river below St Ives or on the New Bedford, and those responsible for drainage complained about damage to the sluices and to banks by the horses used for towing boats. A bill for a new act of Parliament to regulate the situation was defeated in 1777 after fierce opposition, and it was not until 1790 that
13420-645: Was created in the 16th century, although many could not afford to connect to the elm pipes carrying water under the streets. Lynn suffered from outbreaks of plague , notably in 1516, 1587, 1597, 1636 and finally in 1665. Fire was another hazard – in 1572 thatched roofs were banned to reduce the risk. In the English Civil War , King's Lynn supported Parliament, but in August 1643 it was in Royalist hands. It changed sides again after Parliament sent an army and
13542-459: Was dominated by the Hanseatic League of ports; the transatlantic trade and the rise of England's western ports began only in the 17th century. The Trinity Guildhall was rebuilt in 1421 after a fire. Walls entered by the South Gate and East Gate were erected to protect the town. It retains two former Hanseatic League warehouses: Hanse House of 1475 and Marriott's Warehouse, in use between
13664-505: Was formed in 1918, but had no powers to deal with navigation issues, and it was not until the powers of the Land Drainage Act 1930 ( 20 & 21 Geo. 5 . c. 44) were used to create the Great Ouse Catchment Board that effective action could be taken. The catchment board bought the navigation rights from Simpson's estate, and began to dredge the river and rebuild the locks. There was an upturn in commercial traffic from 1925, when
13786-546: Was formed to continue the process, and successfully campaigned for and assisted with the restoration. The Restoration Society campaign included the establishment of the Bedford to St. Neots Canoe Race in 1952 to publicise the case for navigational restoration. Now known as the Bedford Kayak Marathon, it is the longest established canoe race in the UK. In 1961 its organisers formalised canoeing activities on
13908-515: Was laid out to reflect the town's history. Harding's Pits are managed by local volunteers under a management firm, which successfully fought off a Borough Council attempts to turn them into an attenuation drain. In 2007, King's Lynn had a population of 42,800. At Norfolk's 2007 census, King's Lynn, together with West Norfolk, had a population of 143,500, with an average population density of 1.0 persons per hectare. For figures after 2011 see King's Lynn and West Norfolk . King's Lynn has always been
14030-564: Was not popular with those engaged in navigation on the Great Ouse, as the sluices were operated for the benefit of the drainage scheme, and boats often had to wait for days or weeks while the sluices remained closed. The destruction of the Denver Sluice in 1713, caused by exceptional flood levels, was celebrated by the boatmen, but the resultant flooding led to the Corporation building a new sluice between 1748 and 1750. The concerns of
14152-428: Was not recorded until the early 11th century. Until the early 13th century, the Great Ouse emptied via the Wellstream at Wisbech . After its redirection, Lynn and its port gained significance and prosperity. In 1101, Bishop Herbert de Losinga of Thetford began to build the first medieval town between the rivers Purfleet to the north and Mill Fleet to the south. He commissioned St Margaret's Church and authorised
14274-418: Was obtained to authorise it, and another 26 years until the cut was finally opened in 1821. During this time, most of the major civil engineers of the time had contributed their opinions. The original project head and chief engineer was Sir Thomas Hyde Page . The work was overseen by John Rennie and Thomas Telford and construction took four years. It proved to be too narrow, resulting in further silting of
14396-469: Was prior to the construction of the drainage works. John Smeaton rejected this idea in 1766, suggesting that the banks should be moved inwards to create a narrower, faster-flowing channel. William Elstobb and others had suggested that the great bend in the river above King's Lynn should be removed by creating a cut, but it took 50 years of arguing before the Eau Brink Act 1795 ( 35 Geo. 3 . c. 77)
14518-401: Was rebuilt by 1750 after the problem of flooding returned. Kings Lynn, at the mouth of the river, developed as a port, with civil engineering input from many of the great engineers of the time. With the coming of the railways the state of the river declined so that it was unsuitable either for navigation or for drainage. The navigation was declared to be derelict in the 1870s. A repeated problem
14640-433: Was reversed, and King Charles I became the undertaker to ensure the work was completed. The adventurers were given 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) for the work that had already been carried out, and further work was again to be overseen by Vermuyden, but little work was done, as the English Civil War intervened. The existing works were neglected, and some were deliberately damaged during the hostilities. In 1649, interest in
14762-408: Was subsequently rebuilt with seven openings in 1824, and again with three openings in 1954. When flows in the upper river are normal, the sluice gates are closed, and most of the flow is routed along the tidal New Bedford River. As flows increase, the sluices are opened, and water flows along the Old Bedford River, which progressively floods the 8.9 square miles (23 km) of washlands which comprise
14884-421: Was the number of authorities responsible for different aspects of the river. The drainage board created in 1918 had no powers to address navigation issues, and there were six bodies responsible for the river below Denver in 1913. When the Great Ouse Catchment Board was created under the powers of the Land Drainage Act 1930 , effective action could at last be taken. There was significant sugar beet cargo traffic on
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